What You Missed In Immigration: PERM Gets Its First Makeover in 20 Years

DOL Plans First Major PERM Overhaul in More Than Two Decades

This is the story. The Department of Labor has announced plans to modernize the PERM labor certification process for the first time in over 20 years. The agency hasn't released proposed regulations yet, but its regulatory agenda outlines updates to recruitment requirements that would better reflect how employers actually hire in 2026. Think greater emphasis on online recruiting methods, stronger compliance requirements, and increased scrutiny of employers that have recently conducted layoffs. The current rules stay in place while rulemaking moves forward, but the signal is clear: the way PERM has worked for two decades is about to change.

The PERM Takeaway: Every employer who has ever filed a PERM case should be paying attention to this. The recruitment process, the backbone of every labor certification, is being rewritten. If the DOL shifts toward online-first recruiting requirements, the newspaper ads and journal postings that have defined PERM recruitment for years could be supplemented or replaced by digital job boards, social media postings, and other modern methods. That's a massive operational change for employers and the ad agencies that support them. At the same time, increased scrutiny of employers with recent layoffs is a direct warning: if you've cut staff and are simultaneously sponsoring foreign workers, expect the DOL to ask hard questions. Employers should start preparing now by documenting their hiring practices, strengthening their good-faith recruitment efforts, and working closely with their PERM ad agency to ensure every campaign is built to survive whatever the new rules look like. The rulemaking process takes time, but the employers who get ahead of it will have a significant advantage over those who scramble to catch up.

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Trump Seeks Supreme Court Rehearing on Birthright Citizenship

The birthright citizenship fight isn't over, at least not in the administration's eyes. President Trump has announced he will ask the Supreme Court to rehear its recent 6-3 decision that struck down his executive order limiting citizenship for children born on U.S. soil. The ruling, issued last month, held that the 14th Amendment's protections remain intact with only limited exceptions. Legal experts are skeptical: rehearing requests are rarely granted, and if this one fails, the administration would need a constitutional amendment or new legislation to pursue changes. But the fact that the request is being made at all keeps the issue alive politically.

The PERM Takeaway: The legal consensus says this rehearing request is going nowhere, but the political messaging matters. For sponsored employees with U.S.-born children, the continued noise around birthright citizenship creates lingering uncertainty even after a clear Supreme Court victory. Employers should reassure their foreign national workforce that the law has not changed and their children's citizenship is secure. On a strategic level, this is another reminder that immigration policy under this administration is a moving target. Even settled rulings get challenged. Employers should build their sponsorship strategies around what the law says today, not what the administration wishes it said, and stay in regular contact with counsel to track any developments that could affect their workforce.

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DHS Proposes Rule to Implement EB-5 Reform Law

DHS has published a proposed rule to implement the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, the law that overhauled the immigrant investor program. The proposal covers regional center audits, recordkeeping, infrastructure project definitions, high-unemployment area designations, capital redeployment rules, and promoter registration requirements. Public comments are open through August 31, 2026, before a final rule is issued.

The PERM Takeaway: The EB-5 program operates in a different lane than PERM, but the regulatory activity is worth watching. When DHS dedicates resources to rulemaking on one immigration program, it can signal broader reform momentum across the system, including at DOL. The EB-5 overhaul also affects the employment-based visa landscape overall: investor visas consume EB-5 visa numbers that sit alongside EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 in the preference system. For employers tracking visa bulletin movement and priority date backlogs, changes to how EB-5 operates can have downstream effects on availability across all employment-based categories. Keep an eye on this one, even if it's not your lane.

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73% of Americans Still Say Immigration Is Good for the Country

Despite all the enforcement headlines and political battles, Americans remain broadly supportive of immigration. A new Gallup poll found that 73% of respondents say immigration is a good thing for the country, down from a record 79% last year but still well above the historical average. Majorities said legal immigration helps fill workforce shortages, generates tax revenue, and supports science and technology jobs. Support for pathways to citizenship is even higher: 81% back protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, and 75% support a pathway for other undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements.

The PERM Takeaway: These numbers are a powerful counterpoint to the enforcement-heavy narrative dominating the news cycle. When three out of four Americans say immigration is good for the country and specifically cite workforce benefits, that's validation for every employer investing in foreign talent through the PERM process. Use this data internally when making the case for sponsorship budgets and externally when communicating your company's commitment to a diverse, global workforce. The public isn't anti-immigration. They're pro-system, pro-legal pathways, and pro-workforce. That's exactly what PERM is designed to deliver.

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Stay sharp, stay compliant, and we'll see you next week.